Feds say NO - King Cove, Alaska needs 11 mile gravel road for emergency vehicles to access airport.

[link to www.foxnews.com]

".. one of Alaska's most remote outposts, where a thousand hardy souls make their homes, the Obama administration has put the fate of birds and bears above the lives of people, blocking construction of an 11-mile gravel trail connecting a tiny fishing hamlet to a life-saving airport.

.The Cove, located on the south side of the Alaska Peninsula, is tucked in the middle of a storm corridor -- a fate that brings dense fog and high winds to the area forcing its small airport to shut down 100 days out of the year. With no functional airport and no road, at times there is no way out..

...a road is necessary so they can reach an all-weather airport in Cold Bay that will transport them to Anchorage, about 625 miles away, for medical treatment. ..in emergency situations, it's a matter of life and death.

Late last year, the Department of Interior announced it was rejecting plans for a proposed land swap that would allow the road to be built...The Dec. 23 decision cited the negative environmental impact on grizzly bears, caribou and water fowl like the Pacific black brant...

... 19 people have died since 1980 as a result of the impossible-to-navigate weather conditions during emergency evacuations"